Tales of Ben Wade
by El loopy
Summary: Oneshots from throughout the film featuring the notorious outlaw Ben Wade.
1. Seduction

**Disclaimer: Characters are not mine. **

**A/N This is the bar scene near the start of the film.**

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Tales of Ben Wade

Seduction

He was standing behind her, speaking to her in that low voice that sent a shiver sliding delightfully up her spine. He was dangerous, horribly dangerous. He had murdered and would murder again, and those bloodstained hands were caressing her skin. She didn't know what it was about him that drew her irresistibly to him. There was something provocative in his voice, a wild energetic spark in his liquid eyes. It was hard to believe that this man was a killer and yet, at the same time, it was so easy to believe it. His manner towards her was so smooth and refined, there was a calm inside him, she could see it in the depths of his eyes. Yet she could feel the raw danger that he embodied. It was coiled up, just beneath the surface, like a whip, perfectly under his control. She knew in her head that he was bad, that he had killed, that he had probably manipulated hundreds of women in the same way he now manipulated her, but her body responded to him, so sense was stifled. She wanted him despite everything he had done, and because of what he was. The danger was appealing. The knowledge that it was there but he was gentle with her…that he could be gentle…endeared her to him. The power that emanated from him, that poured out in the passion of his kiss, that was the thrill, the adrenaline rush.

She didn't care if he treated all women the same way he treated her. She liked the feeling that _the_ Ben Wade was a human, and she brought that out. She could sense the vulnerability in him that he kept so well hidden but that had pushed him to draw her to himself, so he could feel wanted, needed, loved for a short period of time. He never said a word. Never let her in as his hands traced her skin and his lips pressed against her own, but he didn't need to.


	2. Silent Question

**A/N Thank you to DXRULES103 and Speakfire for your reviews. They are much appreciated.**

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Silent question

He asked her the same silent question that he asked to every girl he chose. He phrased it as a statement, an idea, an option, but the question was there, hovering below the surface, weaving its way through the tone in his voice. This one did exactly what all the others had done before her, she scoffed, she laughed bitterly, and she rejected him. She thought, like they all had, that he was jesting. She thought that the offer of a life with Ben Wade was a fantasy he conjured up for the bedroom. It was a vision spoken of in the atmosphere of the chamber, sealed off from the world, where the very air breathed was laced with his intoxicating presence.

Again he ran his rough hands over smooth, unblemished skin, and whispered words of escape. He had long since acknowledged to himself that the possibility of affirmation was non-existent. Only a foolish girl would act on what he offered and Ben Wade did not suffer fools, nor sleep with them. Only a girl with not a drop of logic in her head would accept him, despite his attractive appearance and because of his dangerous reputation. He had learnt that early in his career and the sharp sting of rejection he had felt each time they turned him down had long since worn off.

He still made the suggestion because of that lingering worm of hope that wriggled in and out of his mind, but he had crushed the pain so it didn't seem to bother him. Nevertheless, each time his silent question was answered in the negative the empty part of him grew a little bit emptier and his eyes darkened a shade further.

Ben Wade asked his hidden question in a statement spoken to any woman he chose to present it to. Though the statement varied, the question remained unchanged, and each time he spoke it with a deadly earnestness that his audience never noticed. What the legendary Ben Wade, soulless outlaw of the west, wanted was for someone to let him know that they cared about him. The love that he had never been given, even by his own mother, ate away at him. He wanted one of them to accept him as he was and he craved for one of them to wrap their arms around him and tell him yes, that they would go away with him, because he was worth it. He wanted them to say that they would gladly give everything up for him. But until that day came he would just keep asking the question, even if he never received an answer.


	3. Dinner

**A/N Thank you again to Speakfire for reviewing and I have changed the typo in Chapter 1. Thanks for pointing it out.**

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Dinner

Wade's quick eyes flitted over the occupants of the tiny room. It had all the air of a sweet little family dining area, poor and bare but nevertheless a family room. It didn't look so friendly anymore, invaded by strangers as it was. Ruthless men, acting as guards, were positioned around the room, leaning against the furniture, and there was a dangerous outlaw sitting at the table with the children. The whole situation was vastly amusing for Wade as he sat there enjoying the stiff, reluctantly give hospitality.

He listened attentively to the prayer, chomping on his food and grinning at the…cuteness, of it all. As the family began to eat he was able to cast his eyes over them in more detail.

Ben Wade was a person like no other. His character made him appealing and magnetic, whilst at the same time repulsive, raising feelings of boiling hatred and revulsion in many.

At that rather uncivilised sham of a dinner party, certainly not on the scale of the rich, nor entertaining the company for it, there were so many different shades of feeling towards the notorious outlaw that Wade sat in an amused silence analysing it all unless a particularly delicious comment was tossed into the air, in which case he took great delight in combating it. He wished that he could bottle the atmosphere in the room so that he could peruse it later at his leisure. It was unfortunate that such a bottle did not exist except in the human memory, which became warped and stale with time.

It did not overly concern Wade much. It was part of his character to derive amusement from many a circumstance that others might count as a misfortune, whilst he waited and bided his time for escape. He had a sense of humour that others seemed not to care to appreciate, and it was this that had sustained Dan earlier in his impertinence. When many others would have just shot him dead, Wade had indulged him and paid him.

Now he waited like a falcon. Hovering, watching, at the various characters in the room as they played off each other. It wasn't just amusement, he was absorbing, learning, waiting…and for some reason his eyes were drawn again and again to the lady who seemed to be in conflict over whether she was horrified or fascinated.

He couldn't wait to get her alone so he could talk to her. Hers was a character he wanted to emerge himself in more _deeply_ before his inevitable departure.


	4. Green Eyes

**A/N Thank you to DXRULES103. This one is slight Wade x Alice simply because I love the effect he has on women. This was one of my favourite scenes in the movie. Enjoy.**

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Green Eyes

He was looking at her. He kept looking at her. He was a killer. He made her skin crawl…but he kept looking at her and when he looked at her…it was so easy to forget that. There was something in the way his eyes pierced her, the way the light reflected off the surface. His eyes were deeper than any she had ever seen and she could drown in them.

She stopped looking at him after a while, and when he spoke she asked him not to talk. She'd heard stories about him, knew what his voice had done. That smooth, convincing tone that throughout vibrated an element of truth, had charmed him into the beds of women, turned his captors against one another, and held many of his victims totally enthralled up till their last breaths.

He had naturally ignored her request. He kept speaking in that unhurried drawl, his manner as if he were telling her a secret. It was as if he were confiding in her, that there were only them in that place. She forgot that there were men outside…that her _husband_ was outside…shooting at things that may or may not have been dangerous. His voice lulled her, and then she made the mistake of looking into his eyes.

"The greenest eyes I've ever seen," he told her as hers flicked to his and were caught. "Like yours."

He was going deep inside her with only his look, probing her mind, and all the time he was talking to her, wrapping her in a cocoon where there was only the two of them. She forgot who she was. She forgot who _he _was. There were just his eyes and his voice, and she could not look away.

"What did you say your name was?" he enquired.

"Alice." The voice of her husband shattered the air before her lips could form the word he'd spoken. The cocoon broke as she was wrenched away from Wade's eyes and forced back to the cold reality of darkness and fear, the hard chair, the hunger mildly sated, the fire's heat prickling her back and the killer next to her. He was closer than she'd realised. She must've moved towards him…A shudder rippled through her and she moved away. What had he done to her? There was a spell in his voice, an enchantment in his eyes, which weaved its way around its victim with no perceptible trace. There was something enigmatic and charismatic about him that was hard to resist. She felt sick to the stomach to think of how far she'd fallen, how far drawn along the path she'd gone that countless women before her had stepped along, whether willingly or blindly.

The way he made her feel when he looked at her, the way he could seduce with a glance and a word, caused fear to flood through her body. She despised him because of it, because of the killer he was, yet he could still make her react that way.

It was why she begged Dan to get him out the house, why she begged Dan not to go with them and why she was left standing on the porch with her arms wrapped around herself, feeling guilty and fearful as she watched them leave, knowing that Wade's eyes lingered on her that moment longer than her own husband's.


	5. Final Portrait

**A/N I have one more chapter that I could write after this one but I don't know about it to be perfectly honest. There might be more to these if I get any more sudden inspiration when watching the movie. Its not the greatest chapter to end on and I am almost certain that its been done before so I appologise and I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**Thank you to Speakfire, Bellus, DXRULES103 and ShotgunOpera for your reviews **

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Final Portrait

All was silent in the Wedding Suite as the hands on the clock grew progressively closer to ten past three. The afternoon had passed uneventfully, boredom broken only by the arrival of the sheriff and Wade's very own gang. A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth as he thought about their dramatic entrance and the methods Charlie had implicated in order to ensure the release of his boss. It was very entertaining and Wade had to hand it to the man that he had style.

Now, however, all was still. The air vibrated with anticipation. Tension settled over the room like a fine mist. The room was warm and musty and the air held the knowledge that this was probably the last of it Dan would ever breathe.

Wade ran his eyes over his last remaining guard, sitting there with each muscle tensed. Dan was the one who had distracted him long enough for the Sherriff to capture him. Wade liked him for some unfathomable reason he was still trying to put his finger on. Maybe it was his gutsy attitude. The man had stood fast as he had asked for his cattle back and had had the cheek to ask Wade for more money when really nothing was owed. The man had spirit that Wade admired, though it seemed worn away by hardship. Tiredness glazed over his eyes and worry lines etched into his face. Maybe that's why Wade was so surprised by the fight still flaring inside. Everything Dan did was drenched in desperation, but still he fought, and his moral conscience was quite staggering, even in the face of death. He didn't seem to care about himself as long as his family would be provided for, mildly selfish in his complete disregard for how they would cope without his presence. The family didn't just need the finance; they needed the father and husband. Nevertheless, Wade found Dan an endless source of reflection. The man inspired admiration in the heartless outlaw.

It was a shame that the elder boy only just seemed to be realising the kind of man his father was. Wade remembered the way the boy had looked at his father when the outlaw had taken the horses, and again the disgust at the dinner table. He was just beginning to view his father with some respect. Wade saw great promise in the boy. The admiration that the boy had looked on Wade with was gratifying and amusing, but the kid had guts too. When he'd held the gun to Wade's head he'd truly intended to fire. The whole situation amused Wade and he was intrigued to see how it would end. He had thought that he knew the outcome but things were taking an unexpected twist and it was all down to Dan's character. It was a pity both father and son were likely to die that afternoon, though William would live if Dan had any say in the matter.

Wade thought over the two family members left back at home, the youngest lad who had bragged that his father was an amazing shot, still proud of his father because his youthful innocence had not been poisoned by age. Then the soon to be widow, Alice. Wade thought about her in the most detail, recalling every element of her appearance, particularly her eyes. Those beautiful green orbs, the sparkle dimmed by hardship and worry. He tried to imagine how much more beautiful she would have been before Dan had dragged her into this life, where she grew thin from hunger and worry bled years from her life. The man had not treated her as he ought, but that he was now putting his life on the line to ensure their security…that made Wade think that perhaps he had been so wrapped up in making sure they just _survived_ that fripperies such as pretty dresses were considered unnecessary.

It was rather ironic that the family was going to be torn apart by the only solution to making sure they lived.

Wade picked up the Bible on the table next to him and drew a pencil out from his pocket. He couldn't help his inclination to sketch. His artist's eyes swept over Dan as he sat vigilant at the window, waiting patiently for his death.

As he watched his guard Wade started to draw, the pencil skimming over the paper, leaving rough grey lines. If this went the way Wade expected it to then this would probably be the last portrait of Dan ever sketched.


End file.
